Part Time Seller Builds Profitable Business With RestockPro

Ron became interested in selling on the Amazon marketplace in 2012 when he saw the velocity his wife was getting with her Amazon business. He offered to start helping her and she suggested that he open his own Amazon store.

Six years later, both businesses are thriving. Ron has a photography background, so he often takes product photos for his wife. She helps him with his business occasionally, but they keep their stores separate and each has their own niche focus. Both Ron and his wife have competitive spirits and they prefer to work independently so that neither ends up picking up the slack for the other.

Part-Time Passion

Ron still works full time from Monday-Friday each week, but he’s had the same part-time job on evenings and weekends for the past six years….building his Amazon business! At this point, he devotes about two hours a day to his Amazon business on weekdays in addition to about six to eight hours each weekend. “It really is a second job, but it’s one that’s profitable,” he said.

Ron sells supplies for arts, crafts, and hobbies. “If it’s a creative thing that fits with a hands-on craft, that’s what I look to,” he said. He’s always on the lookout for new products; attending trade shows is one of the many ways he looks for those products.

Staying Organized

Business is good, thanks in large part to Ron’s well-defined processes. “Rather than ordering through my suppliers every month or so, I’m now placing orders through RestockPro pretty much every week. I’ll sit down on a Sunday morning and go through all of my reorder suggestions and start placing orders,” he said. RestockPro helps him to operate more efficiently, which is especially important because the time that he can devote to his Amazon business is limited by his other responsibilities.

By using Restock Suggestions, Ron can spend less time on each order. Ordering fewer products more frequently means that less of his funds are tied up in inventory, allowing him to explore new options such as adding new product lines to his store.

“When I receive the order, I’m receiving less units, which then takes less time to process and get back out the door. So it’s working more often, but using the time more efficiently,” he said. “The program [RestockPro] is helping me avoid out-of-stock periods, which are deadly for any retailer. My sales are up over 30%, and I can attribute much of that to RestockPro!”

My sales are up over 30%, and I can attribute much of that to RestockPro!

Shipment Prep

Ron's suppliers do not ship directly to the Amazon fulfillment centers. He does have a small number of SKUs that go through a prep service, but nothing is sent directly from a manufacturer to Amazon. “It delays the supply chain by about a week or so the way I’m doing it, but I prefer to maintain a degree of control,” he said. This allows him to check product quality and make sure everything is labeled and bagged correctly before shipping.

Creating purchase orders in RestockPro makes receiving much more efficient. “When it comes to receiving, because the purchase order was created in RestockPro, I can just go through and make sure everything is received okay. I make sure what I ordered was what I got, and then when it comes to actually uploading that to Amazon, creating the shipment in RestockPro saves me a ton of time,” he said. Ron also prints most of his item stickers from RestockPro. (An aside: he uses FeedbackFive to manage his Amazon reputation, which we always love to hear!)

Make Your Amazon Business More Efficient

Are you working a full-time job while building a part-time Amazon business like Ron? Do you find yourself drowning in spreadsheets? Maybe it’s time to check out RestockPro. Sign up for a free trial today!

This post spotlights a satisfied user of RestockPro. This article is a part of our series highlighting merchant success stories. As a thank-you for participating in this article, the customer received one free month of RestockPro. If you’re currently using RestockPro and are interested in participating in this program, click here to request information.